That wasn't Amarillo Texas

Yeah! You couldn't even see the Big Texas Steak Ranch!






Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.

I know! Ruined the whole movie for me.

Did they think we wouldn't notice???

Yes, it was. This film had many layers to it, that made it stand out, special. And one of those layers was locations. And, another, it was filmed in sequence. Which is virtually unheard of anymore. As the scenes unfold in the film, that is the order in which they were shot, in the locations they are supposed to take place. The only scene that took place elsewhere was the river scene, due to finding a river that was conducive enough to film, in this case, the water not being too cold, hence, why they went to New Zealand.
And the best example of them filming in sequence, and staying true to authentic locations, is early on when Walsh goes to NY. That brief scene of him on the phone, and the recording device in the car, was shot in NY. That scene didn't need to be done there. Very little is shown, nothing stands out to make it NY. Could've been filmed in any big city. If it was a standard movie making situation, it most likely would've been done in Chicago, where several other scenes were shot, and would've made sense to do it there. This is called "cluster" shooting. But one of the goals of this "road" movie was to try and capture that vibe, and which is why Brest insisted on shooting in sequence, and, the actual locations. And yes, Im in the biz, and familiar with this film, and its background

If he planned on driving from Chicago to Los Angeles, it doesn't make sense that he would go anywhere near Texas. The fastest route would be through Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, then Utah.